


"Everybody wanna know what my Achilles heel is..."

by eyeles



Category: Monster Prom (Visual Novel)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Anxiety Attacks, Awkward Crush, Awkward Flirting, Bad Flirting, Canon-Typical Violence, Chaos, Developing Relationship, Domestic Fluff, Eventual Relationships, Eventual Romance, Everyone Is Gay, Family, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Friends to Lovers, High School, How Do I Tag, I Don't Even Know, I'm Bad At Titles, Idiots in Love, Light Angst, M/M, Multi, Mutual Pining, Other Ships Not Mentioned in Tags, Phobias, Pining, Slow Romance, Slow To Update, Social Anxiety, Stupidity, Swearing, an eldricht being, because I said so, but he cant be cis either so that means hes trans, it wont be mentioned but just know its there, just assume everyone is trans tbh, oz cant really be trans bc hes like, oz is trans, were ignoring the fact that theyre starting high school at 18
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-20
Updated: 2021-03-22
Packaged: 2021-03-29 02:14:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30149181
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eyeles/pseuds/eyeles
Summary: When Oz and Damien meet for the first time, Damien decides that this kid needs to die. But when he just turns out to be some small eldritch horror too scared to cross a crowded room, he begins to think differently. A fear-eating ancient being paired with a fear-inducing demon... Really, what could go wrong?-yes this work title is a kanye west lyric . you cant tell me that damiens favorite artist isnt kanye ...
Relationships: Damien LaVey/Yellow | Oz, Green | Brian/Liam de Lioncourt
Kudos: 20





	1. 1 - “I don’t think you should be, uh, beating this m-man up, sir…”

**Author's Note:**

  * For [my gay ass](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=my+gay+ass).



> hiya!  
> this is a fic that probably wont get finished. you know me <3  
> desc says slow burn but im hoping to make this short .,,..,
> 
> also i just got into monster prom so dont bully me for not knowing everything that happens
> 
> also also this fic is inspired by a LOT of oz hcs ive seen around so his character is a little bit stolen from other ppl but shhhh its okay we dont talk about it
> 
> All characters are of age, despite just now starting Spooky High. Oz is like, eons old, and Damien is 21? That's all that matters. We're just... ignoring the weirdness of starting high school at 21. Time is weird anyway.

For a being older than time and created to be the embodiment of fear itself, you’d think that Oz would be able to overcome his anxiety regarding this crowded room.

One of his friends dragged him there - this time, he couldn’t refuse. The party was thrown for the newest students of Spooky High, and Oz just so happened to be part of that group. As soon as Amira had heard of it, she made it a very big point to have all of her friends there. In any other situation, Oz would have refused… But Amira was very clearly upset at the rejection. He had decided to come.

Now, he was stuck here in this… situation. Somehow, he had ended up across the room from his friends. In order to get back to them, he had to either shadow jump or walk through the crowd. In most cases, he would shadow jump. Unfortunately for him, the overstimulation of the noise and constant flashing lights combined with the situation at hand made it too difficult for him to focus on shadow jumping. He stared at his friends, praying that they would see him and help him out. They didn’t notice.

Oz was taken away from his thoughts when a pale, blue ghost appeared from behind him and began speaking.

“Heyyyyyy!” She yelled, sunglasses hiding her eyes. Oz assumed they were bloodshot just from the amount of stumbling she seemed be doing. “Lost or somethin’? You’re a new student, aren’tcha?”

Oz fumbled for a moment before nodding. “Y-Yeah, I’m new… I was just trying to get back to my friends, parties aren’t really my thing.” The voice echoed through the ghost’s mind, and she quickly looked around her.

“O-Oh, sorry!” Oz yelped. “That’s me. I, uh… I don’t have a mouth. I speak through projecting my voice into your head. I’m sorry if it’s weird-”

“THAT’S FUCKING AWESOME!” The ghost floated up happily, arms in the air. “Seriously, that’s wicked! Using your mind talky thing you could toooootally help me cheat on tests!”

Oz blushed and shook his head. “I don’t really support academic dishonesty,” he mumbled. The girl floated down back to him.

“Aaaaanyway,” she laughed, “What’s your name? I’m Polly! Like, Polly Geist. I’m a new student tooooo~!” She pulled a bottle out from… somewhere? and began drinking it, but the liquid just fell through her. She appeared to be somehow affected by the drink despite that.

“I’m Oz, I don’t really have a last name… I’m new here.”

Polly nodded and looked over to where Oz had been staring this entire time. “Those your buds?” She yelled over the music. The being nodded. “What, you scared of crowds or somethin’?” He nodded again. Polly giggled and somehow grabbed Oz and began dragging him into the crowd. In a panic, Oz’s phobias began popping out of his head, floating around him with panicked expressions. Oz tried to resist Polly, but she kept dragging him.

When they got to the other side, Polly was visibly giddy from floating through a bunch of people. Oz was less than happy about it, since he had to bump into each one and apologize while being dragged. “Seeee? Wasn’t too bad!” Polly laughed and handed Oz her empty bottle. “Listen, toss this somewhere for me, kay? Since I helped ya out!”

Oz took it and nodded, still shaken by the crowd. Polly floated up, yelling down at him. “Laaaater! Remember, Lil’ Oz, my name is Polllllyyyy~!”

Oz was still standing frozen on the outskirts of the crowd when he was suddenly pulled into another group of people. He quickly recognized the group to be his own friends, and immediately calmed down.

“Oz! You good?” A girl with pale blueish green skin says. She has face paint on that’s glowing from the bright, neon lights shining above.

“Y-Yeah, Vicky… I’m, uh, fine.” Oz sputters out. The phobias begin slowly joining back into Oz’s body as they calm down. “I just, don’t really like parties? I’m not really used to this…”

“You should go home, then.” Oz turns to the voice and sees his friend Brian. His sickly, green skin almost glows under the neon lights surrounding him.

“Yeah, Inky. I know I wanted you to come but now I kinda feel bad for putting you in this situation.” Oz turns again and sees Amira, her face glowing with facepaint from the lights. “It’s fine, Amira… I just need a few minutes, y’know? It’s not a big deal, I just… I’ll be back, okay?” Oz forms a phobia and begins playing with it in his hand, stretching and shaping it - something he only does when he’s stressed and trying to find a distraction. In this case, he was trying to distract himself from the thought of disappointing his friends.

“Okay, you can go home if you want to, though. Just like, let us know, okay?” Amira smiled. Oz nodded and Vicky slapped her hand on his shoulder. “We love ya, Oz! See ya!” Brian nodded at Oz, and he nodded back. In one swift motion, Oz left the building and rested his body against the concrete wall. He began sliding slowly and eventually hit the ground, head buried in his hands. The music was still blasting loudly, even from outside.

Oz wasn’t really prepared to fight any of his anxieties today. Really, he was never prepared to fight them at any point. He sighed loudly and began shaping the phobia again. Eventually, he felt calm enough to begin walking. He didn’t know where, but he was walking somewhere with a purpose.

He made it two blocks before the gods above decided to give him something else to deal with.

As he turned a corner, he became a witness to a crime again. A crocodile-esque monster laid on the ground, profusely bleeding. That wasn’t what caught Oz’s attention, though. It was the large, red monster kicking him profusely. Everything in Oz told him not to intervene, but he still did.

“H-Hey, stop that!” Oz’s voice croaked out in a very non-threatening manner. The red monster looked up and around before his eyes settled on Oz. “O-Oh,” Oz shrunk, “I talk through your head, I’m sorry if that’s weird-”

“What the hell are you doing?” The man asked, foot stepping down on the monster below him. Oz stepped forward. “I don’t think you should be, uh, beating this m-man up, sir…” He could feel the embarrassment creeping up inside him from how stupid he sounded right now.

The man lowered his foot to the ground. The monster groaned in pain. “You… want me to stop?” Oz nodded. The red monster was silent for a moment, his devilish tail flicking. “Who the fuck tries to stop conflict like that?”

He went back to kicking the monster, this time much harder. Oz sighed and released two phobias to catch the red monster’s legs and tie them together to prevent kicking. “H-Hey, asshole!” The man yelled, struggling to get the phobias off of him. “The fuck are you doing?!”

“I, uh, I’m stopping the conflict? I don’t know, I felt really bad for this crocodile guy and I, uh, if I kept walking it would have been really mean?”

The monster stopped struggling with the phobias when they started biting his hands. “Shit’s none of your business, man! This shitbag stole my fucking liquor while I wasn’t lookin. He deserves it.”

Oz looked down at the monster. His belongings were strung out near him, and his wallet was practically empty. The clothes were all torn and he seemed unkempt. To oz, he seemed like the type to steal liquor. The being looked back at the monster, whose tail was still flicking angrily. The two sharp horns were glowing red, and the tips were beginning to light on fire.

Oz called his phobias back.

“I apologize, then. I didn’t mean to intrude on your, uh…”

“Kickassery?” The monster said, a smirk reappearing as he picked up the man’s wallet. He took out all the cash in it - four dollars and a few cents. He huffs and puts the money in his pocket. “Damn, really hoped he woulda had more on him. Used up my monthly allowance for that shit.” He glances over to the now smashed bottle of booze.

Oz pulled out his own wallet. He handed the cash that he had to the monster and started to walk away. “W-Wait!” He called out. Oz stopped and turned back around, confused.

“Why’d you give me your fuckin’ money, man?”

Oz shrugged. “I assume you need it more than I do…”

The demon huffs and shoves the money back to Oz. “I’m not takin’ your fuckin’ pity money, loser.”

“It’s not pity money, I just-”

“I don’t give a fuck, I work for my cash.”

Oz hummed. “How about I pay you to walk with me?”

The monster’s expression turned from anger to pure confusion. “The fuck? Are you that fuckin’ lonely, man”?

Oz shrugged. “N-Not really, but if you won’t take it, then I’ll pay you.”

He stretched his arms behind his head then put his hands in his pockets. His tail settled and his horns stopped glowing, Oz noticed.

“...Fine.”

Oz smiled with his eyes, and they began walking. “Only because I really want that liquor and I don’t feel like beating up some shitbag again.”

They turned the corner and continued walking. Oz tried to make small talk.

“S-So, uh… I don’t know your name.”

The demon glanced at Oz with a smirk. “I fuckin’ find that hard to believe, man. You tellin’ me you’ve NEVER seen me on the news?”

“I don’t watch the news, sorry.”

He scoffed. “Course you fuckin’ don’t. Name’s Damien LaVey, I cause a shit-ton of problems around here. Turn on the local news and chances are, I’ll be there.”

Oz nodded. “My name is Oz. How do you not get, uh, caught?”

They crossed the street together. “My dads are the literal kings of Hell, I can basically do whatever the fuck I want.” Oz felt a phobia pop out in shock.

“I didn’t expect that,” Oz said, “but that’s… neat.”

Damien cracked his fingers. “It’s whatever. Do you not have a last name or some shit?”

Oz shook his head. “I don’t. My name is uh, just Oz.”

They stopped at a corner, and Damien leaned against a light pole. He takes out a cigarette and lights it with his finger, sticking it in his mouth and flicking it with his tongue. “You don’t got fuckin’ parents”? The being shook his head again. Damien scoffed. “You had to come from somewhere, Oz.”

Oz felt his anxiety bubble inside him. He definitely knew where he came from, but he was unsure if he was okay with Damien knowing that information. ‘That would freak him out,’ he thought. While Oz was contemplating what to say, a phobia popped out on his shoulder and formed little hands, fidgeting nervously.

“The fuck are those things?”

Oz snapped out of his thoughts. The phobia flowed down his arm and under his yellow sweater. Popping up in Oz’s hand, the being held it out to Damien. “They’re phobias,” he explained, “and they represent… different phobias.”

Damien furrowed his brow and touched the phobia with his finger. To his surprise, the little inkling was warm and felt like whipped cream. “That’s fuckin’ weird,” he mumbled. “Are they like… part of you?”

Oz nodded. “I’m kinda… the embodiment of fear? Like, I uh, I eat it and… I kinda just exist here. That’s why I don’t really have any parents.” Oz was partially telling the truth - he just left out the fact that he was older than time itself and was able to sense the fears of every single person he interacted with.

Damien nodded his head, impressed. “Gotta admit, that’s cool as fuck.”

Oz blushed. Nobody really complimented his powers like that.

“You said you eat fear? The fuck does that mean?”

Oz pulled the phobia back into himself. Blots of ink-like substance floated off his hair and floated around his head. He was thinking of a way to say this without freaking the demon out.

“I, uh, take people’s fear from them and consume it. It’s what keeps me alive, I guess. I don’t really eat food…”

Damien huffed. “Eating food is like, the best fuckin’ thing in the world, and you can’t eat it? Fucked up.”

Oz shook his head. “I can eat food, I just… don’t? I have no need to do that, since it does literally nothing for me. It’s the same with sleeping, I guess.”

Damien blew smoke from his mouth. Oz was unsure if that was smoke he produced on his own, or if it was from the cigarette. “Shit, man. Food is fuckin’ awesome, you should try it sometime. Sleeping is alright, I guess. Most the sleeping I do is with women, if you know what I mean.” Damien smirked and put out his cigarette. They began walking together again as Oz sputtered, trying to figure out a response. A blush drew across his face.

The conversation died out a few minutes later.

“Why are you out here, anyway?” Damien asked after a minute of silence. “This part of town is like, super fuckin’ dangerous and you don’t seem like the type to hang around here.”

“W-Well, I was here for a party that my friends made me go to. I kinda got overwhelmed, so I left.” Oz checked his phone for any new messages. He found a few in his friends’ group chat.

Radish - yo inky r u coming back??

xXxM0ns3rxXx - idk ?? ive asked around n nobody has seen him

Brian - I don’t think he’s coming back, he seemed pretty out of it.

Oz quickly texted to let his friends know.

Inky - Brian’s right, I’m not coming back. Sorry - I needed some air and I decided to take a walk. I’ll see you outside Spooky High on Monday.

Damien scoffed. “Was it that lame ass Spooky High party?” Oz nodded as he turned his attention back. “Yeah, that party fuckin’ sucked. I left like, ten minutes after it started. Fuckin’ Vera wouldn’t let me fight anyone, and there wasn’t any good alcohol anyway.”

“You’re a student too?” Oz was shocked. Damien nodded. “Startin’ next week, yeah. Not fuckin’ happy about it, though. Dads wouldn’t let me get out of it, some stupid shit about needing an education.”

Oz hummed and nodded. “I’ve never… been to school before. I’m looking forward to the experience.”

Damien was shocked. “Well, you’ll have one hell of a time, man. Spooky High is notorious for all the stupid shit that happens there, you sure as fuck will be experiencing something.”

Before Oz could respond, Damien’s phone began blasting music. He took it out and sighed before answering the call. He turned away from Oz, who walked a few feet away to give Damien space. He could still hear some of the call, though.

“...Yeah, I know…. I knowwww, Dad, I just-..... Okay, fine, I’ll be back soon.” With a curse, Damien disconnected the call and turned back to Damien. He walked closer.

“That was my dad, he said I’ve gotta be home in ten minutes.”

“O-Oh!” Oz said. “Do you need a ride home? That’s, uh, not a lot of time…”

Damien chuckled and flicked his hand. A portal appeared next to him, and it showed, what Oz assumed to be, Damien’s bedroom. It was an organized mess, but Oz didn’t focus on it too long in order to not seem rude. “Home’s eight fuckin’ circles deep, I got a portal. Thanks, though.”

He stepped through the portal. Before it closed, Damien said his goodbyes.

“I guess I’ll see you around on Monday, then?” Oz nodded. “Cool. Laters.”

The portal closes, and Oz was alone again. He didn’t even realize a phobia had been waving at Damien until it slipped back into his head. The ancient begin decided to head home at this point and began to shrink into the shadows. As quick as he had entered the shadow, he exited into his living room.


	2. “What class do you have next?”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oz, being the academic king he is, makes a deal with the devil to get him to go to class.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i write all my shit in google docs and I don't feel like making everything bold and italicized again here so you're just gonna have to deal with that tbh.
> 
> inky - oz, of course  
> radish - amira (u get it)  
> brian - take a guess  
> xXxM0nst3rxXx - vicky (I think its funny okay)

When Monday came, Oz was sure that he was ready. He had everything he needed - his phone, some pencils, and… one notebook. He’s never been to school before, he wasn’t entirely sure what would happen - especially after what he heard from Damien.

Oz texted his friends to make sure they were ready.

Inky - Is everyone ready?

Radish - uhhhh yeah

Brian - yea

xXxM0nst3rxXx - yupppp

Inky - Okay, I’ll pick everyone up. Be ready.

Oz put his phone away, then double checked that he had everything he needed. Once he was sure, he began sinking into the shadows. After reappearing outside of Brian’s door, he knocked. Brian exited his house, ready to go.

Oz grabbed Brian’s head and pushed him into the ground through his shadow. Brain sank until he was gone. Then, Oz went to Amira’s house.

She was still not used to the shadow realm, but adjusted well enough after Oz shoved her in. Vicky was excited and jumped into the shadow realm. Once Oz appeared in, they greeted him. He floated aimlessly, eyes shut and focused.

“Oh, yeah,” Amira chuckled, “I forgot he’s gotta like, focus when he’s doin’ this.”

Brian nodded. Oz’s inky substance floated around him in this void-like space as they travelled, light streaks peeking through and bending the light around them. A few seconds later, they all appeared outside of Spooky High.

“Thanks, Inky!” Vicky smiled, running into the school. Amira ran after her after thanking Oz. The being was standing there, recovering from the slight difficulty of transporting four people through shadows. He’s done a lot more before, but it’s been… over a megannum since he had that much power. Now, he was much more weak. Not that he minded, anyway.

Brian and Oz made their way into the school and found their way to the gym, where there were rows of tables for people to pick up their schedules. After retrieving his, Oz compared his schedule to his friends. They all had their first class together, but the rest was different. At least they had the same lunch times.

They went to their first class together - immediately, Oz could tell this high school was… different… from what he thought it would be. Damien was right so far - there was a LOT going on already. Two monsters had taken it upon themselves to already begin looking through the teacher’s desk. A few students were gathered and loudly discussing how many fires they think there would be that day.

Oz sat at his desk and waited anxiously for the teacher to show up. The bell rang, and she entered the room. Before she spoke, a voice rang through the speaker in the ceiling.

“Heeellllooooo, my spooky students!”

This voice already annoyed Oz.

“I am Principal Giant Spider, and I’ll be conducting the morning announcements every single day!”

His voice was high-pitched and seemed to invoke some sort of despair in anyone that heard it, judging by the reactions of the students around him.

“It has come to my attention that SOME of you think it’s funny to set the student schedules on fire,”

The students high fived.

“Well! As of today, Spooky High is officially CRACKING DOWN ON FIRE!”

Oz glanced at his friends, who were just as confused as he was. They seemed to be amused, at least.

“We ask that if you see a fire ANYWHERE in the school, please yell at it to stop! If it doesn’t listen to you, then ask one of your fiery friends to yell at it! That should get it to stop. We don’t want a repeat of last year!”

Principal Giant Spider talked for far longer than Oz wanted him to. After announcements were finished, class finally began. The teacher seemed nice enough, and the class was… alright. There wasn’t much interesting about a “Spells That Are Useful Sometimes” class, but he hoped to get at least something out of it. A spell that would be useful at one point, maybe.

The class passed quickly, and Oz attended his next one.

Lunch came soon, and Oz was faced with another issue, one that he hadn’t considered yet. This room was packed with students and, essentially, was one giant crowd. Feeling the anxiety bubble inside of him, a phobia popped out and began fidgeting.

Oz was saved from his downfall by Brian, who tugged at his sweater and lead him to the table where all of their friends were. Oz smiled and sat.

Everyone ate except for Oz. They all talked about their classes - Brian already witnessed a fire up close in his class. “Some guy decided to light his desk on fire because he was, quote, ‘Sick of this bullshit school already.’”

Thirty minutes later, the bell rang.

“Hey Inky, Amira and I are gonna skip the next class. Wanna join?”

Oz furrowed his brow. “Of course not, Vicky. You know, I should be lecturing you about the importance of attending class-”

“Ooookay, Oz. Me and Amira will go to our classes, then. Right, Amira?” Vicky elbowed Amira, who was on her phone. She gave a thumbs up in response.

Oz could tell that Vicky was lying, but knew that there was no way to convince them to attend class. After all, he wasn’t their dad. Oz sighed and let them go, then went to his next class. It was as boring as he expected, being Monster Math and all. Oz had seen almost every aspect of mankind, and never found math interesting at any point. He had met Einstein himself and still didn’t care that much.

The teacher had left the room a few minutes before class ended, and all the students took that as an opportunity to leave themselves. Oz, not wanting to be the last one in class, left as well. Since he didn’t have anything to do before his last class, he headed to the bathrooms to stand around.

He wasn’t expecting Damien LaVey to be there.

Oz opened the door and saw Damien sitting on a sink, leaning against the adjacent wall. He was smoking a cigarette, tail in hand. When he noticed Oz’s entrance, he nodded.

“W-what are you doing here?” Oz asked. Damien took the cigarette out of his mouth and blew the smoke at Oz.

“What’s it fuckin’ look like? I’m skippin’ class.”

Oz furrowed his brow. He would have been offended at the smoke, but he didn’t breathe anyway. “Why? I mean… aren’t you attending school for education?”

Damien laughed and hopped off the sink. “Hell no, man. I’m here because my dads are forcing me to, not because I wanna.”

Oz nodded, a phobia popping out and waving hello to Damien. The demon smirked at the phobia and acknowledged it with a nod. “If I’m gonna be forced to be here, I’m gonna use my time wisely. Cousin fires and shit, the usual.”

“What class do you have next?”

Damien shrugged and directed Oz toward the trash can. On the ground was a partially burnt schedule. “I kinda fucked it up, but I didn’t read it anyway. You can look if you want, I don’t really give a shit or whatever.”

Oz picked it up and examined it. He saw Damien’s name printed at the top, then his locker combination and schedule follow. Locker no. 2938223. Why were there so many lockers…?

Oz skipped to the end of the schedule - Gardening. He tried not to laugh at the idea of Damien in a gardening class. Pushing it back, he read the schedule aloud to Damien.

The demon scoffed. “None of those classes sound interesting at all, so that’s a no from me.”

Oz pulled out his schedule and compared it to Damien’s. There was one class that matched - Gardening. “We have Gardening together, it seems.”

Damien shrugged. “I sure as hell don’t plan on going.” He angrily sighed as the cigarette burnt out. It was too small to smoke at this point. He threw it into the trash can and reached into his pocket for another. “Shit, I’m out of smokes.”

Oz put Damien’s schedule in his pocket. If Damien didn’t want it, Oz would take it. As weird as it was, he felt like he would need it again at some point. “You got any, Oz?”

Oz was surprised that Damien even remembered his name, really. He shook his head slowly and reminded the monster that he didn’t have any use for that.

“Shit, neither do I,” Damien chuckled, “my fuckin’ stomach is a literal pit of fire. I don’t even think I got lungs or whatever,”

Oz chuckled at that, and Damien felt his heart flutter for a moment. There was silence for a minute before Oz broke it. “I don’t think I can let you stay here knowing that you’ll be missing class, Damien.”

The demon rolled his eyes. “Listen, loser. I don’t know what kinda badass you think you are, but nobody fuckin’ tells me what to do. Especially not some twink like you.” He glanced back to the cigarette butt that was on the ground.

“Unless,” he leaned into the sink and locked eyes with Oz. “You buy me a pack of cigarettes after school.”

Oz thought about it for a moment. Damien’s glowing, yellow eyes pierced through Oz’s brain and made it difficult for him to think. Looking away, Oz begrudgingly agreed. Oz didn’t have much of a use for money, but he still didn’t want to go throwing it away.

Damien slapped Oz’s shoulder in agreement, as if to seal the deal. “You just made a deal with the devil, I’ll sure as fuck hold you to it.”

Oz sighed. “Let’s just go.”

They got to class two minutes early and sat in the only available seats. They happened to be right next to each other.

“Well,” the teacher spoke, “these will be your seats for the remainder of this class. I hope you like your partner.”

Oz somehow knew that he was going to be doing all of the assignments for Damien. He caught a glance at the demon and saw he was smirking already, leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed. His tail flicked confidently.

The rest of the class was spent on a lecture. Oz was almost convinced that this was a normal class until Damien lit something on fire from boredom. That brought him back down to reality. The class ended quickly, and Damien was quick to hold Oz to that deal.

“C’mon, Oz. You promised, and I-”

“I know, Damien. I know.” Oz cut him off. “We can go get you your cigarettes now, I guess. Where’s the nearest drug store?”

Damien gave him the directions, and Oz sent a quick text to their group chat.

Inky - I gotta do something real quick, then I’ll be over to your place, Brian.

Brian - Okay. We’ll walk, then.

Ignoring the pleading texts of Amira and Vicky to not make them walk, Oz placed his phone back in his pocket. Oz realized that the classroom was now completely empty, and that it was just them. Damien was now sitting on the desk they shared, playing with a flame in his hand. Oz stood up.

“Have you ever been to the shadow realm before, Damien?”

Damien furrowed his brow and let out the flame. “The fuck is that?” He asked. Oz sighed and a phobia popped out showing exasperation. “It’s how I, uh, get around places. I travel through shadows. In order to take people with me, I have to put you in the shadow realm. It’s much quicker than walking.”

Damien seemed impressed by that. ‘What else can this freak do?’ He asked himself. “Seem’s fuckin sick, you got teleportation. Badass.”

Oz nodded. Without warning, he placed a hand around Damien’s horn and started shoving him into his shadow. “H-Hey!” Damien shouted. Oz felt the horn heat. “The fuck are you doing, freak?!”

Before Oz could answer, Damien was shoved into the shadow realm. Oz soon retreated in as well. When he got there, he saw Damien floating, very confused. “Wh… What the fuck?!” He yelled, trying to see where he was.

“You’re in the shadow realm. It’s my, uh, pocket dimension, sort of.” Oz’s voice echoed into Damien’s head, and the demon quickly turned to see him. Oz floated near him.

“I…” Damien was speechless. Not many things surprised him anymore, but this sure as hell did. “What the fuck? Literally. Just, like, what the fuck is happening right now?”

Oz shrugged. “It’s best not to question it. I’ll get us going, then. Just so you know, I don’t really… exist? When I travel through shadows. My body kinda… warps and stuff. It’s weird, I’m sorry.”

Before Damien could respond, Oz began shifting and his body started pulling itself apart. The demon had no idea if he should be concerned, but he watched with intrigue and horror as Oz’s body shifted itself. He looked down at his hands and saw the light bending and warping his body. ‘Okay, what the fuck. This doesn’t seem right.’

As soon as the warping had started, it stopped. Oz had reverted back to his original form and was now pushing Damien into the light. When they both appeared at the gas station, Damien had to lean against the wall to regain balance.

“I’m sorry, I should have told you sooner - it’s normal to feel, uh, sick? After shadow jumping.”

Damien nodded and spit on the ground. “You’re fuckin’ lucky I don’t have a stomach to throw up, loser. Whatever, just get me my cigarettes.”

They walked in together and waited in line. When they got to the front, the cashier eyed Damien suspiciously. Oz asked for the cigarettes and gave them to him very carefully. As he was paying, the cashier nervously pressed a button under the counter.

A shutter slammed itself down on the counter and the cashier quickly exited into the back room. Oz turned to Damien nervously and asked if he knew what was happening.

“Uhhhh,” Damien said, “I don’t really know what’s happening-”

“I-I’m g-g-going to have to ask y-you to, to uhm, leave the store immediately, Damien LaVey” The speaker announced. Oz crossed his arms at Damien who sheepishly rubbed his neck.

“To be fair, I don’t remember what I did here that made them so scared of me,” he chuckled.

“I’m not here to start shit!” He yelled into the back. “Just want my fucking cigarettes, man!”

After no response, Oz left the money on the counter and led Damien out of the store, loudly apologizing to the cashier that Damien had apparently traumatized in some way. When they got outside, Oz handed the cigarettes to the demon.

“Goin’ to class was not fuckin’ worth it,” Damien sighed as he opened the pack. “I could not give less of a fuck about what happens in that shithole.”

Oz sighed uncomfortably. “Don’t your dads want you to do well in school?” the being questioned. Damien shrugged. “Probably. I don’t give a shit though, I’ve got better things to do than rule Hell.”

“Like what?” Oz tilted his head as a phobia popped out and floated near him.

Damien shifted uncomfortably. “I… Just, like, shit to do. I dunno. Doesn’t matter, it’s whatever.”

Oz could very clearly see that Damien was lying about it, but didn’t get the cue to stop asking. “Whatever it is, I’m sure you’ll be good at it. You seem, uh, passionate?”

Damien glared at the phobia who was mocking him. “Tell your shitbag friend to stop mocking me, Oz.” The ancient being looked up and saw the phobia huffing mockingly, a tail and two horns included. Oz pushed the phobia in and apologized.

“My parents are like, super into me ruling Hell when I graduate. I don’t really wanna do that shit, though.” Damien continued, avoiding Oz’s eyes.

“What is it you want to do, then?”

He glared again, a light blush appearing on his cheeks. “Fuck off, I’m not telling you.” Oz furrowed his brow and asked why.

“You’ll make fun of me or whatever,” Damien huffed, “and I don’t feel like beating the shit out of you right now. So I won’t say shit.” Damien left out the fact that he didn’t want Oz to think he was uncool.

“Why would I make fun of you?” Oz was confused. He had never had a reason to make fun of anyone - why would Damien think he would?

The demon flicked the cigarette and sighed. “Fine.”

He grumbled something that even Oz could not hear. “S-Sorry? I couldn’t hear you,” Oz said.

“Hairstylist.” Damien avoided his eyes, tail flicking subtly.

Oz hummed. “Well… that’s, uh… I don’t think-”

“Fuck off. I don’t care what shit you have to say about it. Knew I shouldn’t have fuckin’ said anything.” Damien flicked the cigarette again and his horns began glowing from heat. He started to walk away before Oz caught up to him.

“N-No, Damien!” Oz grabbed his shoulder without thinking. “I wasn’t going to say anything mean, I was just-”

“Don’t try to save yourself now, asshole. Get the fuck out of my way.”

Damien shoved Oz away angrily. It was apparent that Damien had anger problems, but Oz didn’t think it would go as far as projecting his insecurities onto him. Oz sighed and a phobia popped up, confused and angry. Oz made a mental note to find Damien tomorrow and tell him what happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aha youre all sexy mwa


End file.
